Hippocratic Oath
by oddstick
Summary: Prompt was "Command Trine/Ratchet; tattoos". Ratchet cannot refuse to help an injured mech in need.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Hippocratic Oath

Author: odd_stick

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Hasbro.

Rating: PG (I'm playing it safe…)

Characters: Command Trine (Starscream, Thundercracker, & Skywarp) x Ratchet (Bayverse)

Pairing(s): Relationships, both past and future, are hinted at and include: ScreamerxTCxWarp, StarscreamxRatchet, and TrinexRatchet.

Summary: Request fic for shadow_ribbon on LJ; prompt was "Command Trine/Ratchet – tattoos"

**A/N**: Story kind of got away with me, though I was still able to include a reference to the actual prompt. LOL. Also – there are footnotes….yeah, I dunno. .

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The only warning Ratchet had was the telltale flicker that danced over his sensors and the accompanying sounds of the teleportation. He was roughly grabbed from behind and pulled to a broad chassis before the NEST compound vanished from his sight, the startled cries of his allies echoing in his audials. The abrupt displacement made his tank churn and his spark drop, but he was given no time to recover as he was roughly pushed forward.

The feel of a short blade digging into the seam of his back strut urged him onward, but didn't keep him from opening his mouth. "We hadn't realized that you had made planet fall Skywarp. We were even considering the idea that you may have been deactivated since you had not been seen with Starscream."

A clawed hand came to rest on the CMO's shoulder, gently directing him towards their destination. "Wanted to keep it a surprise, though I guess I kinda spoiled it back there."

Ratchet could honestly say that he had no idea where they were. Some kind of disrupter field had been set up to keep him from linking to Earth's satellites in order to pinpoint his location while also blocking any communications he tried to send out. The structure they were in was cramped and littered with several maze-like passage ways, but it was definitely human in origin.

"Did you harm any humans when you appropriated this place?"

A rough shove to his shoulder caused the Autobot to nearly lose his footing, but the act lost its edge when Skywarp laughed. "Don't worry about the squishies. You know how Starscream dislikes needlessly killing civvies." 1

The chartreuse mech would have turned and given the Seeker a firm lecture on the hypocrisy of such a stand when their _leader_ had no such qualms, but was cut off when they finally entered their destination. The room was terribly unremarkable, aside from the pool of still glowing energon that led to two more Seekers.

Thundercracker's optics lifted from the slack face of their Trine Leader. "'Warp, you got him," the blue mech pointed out, his words betraying his exhaustion.

Ratchet rushed over, his training taking over. He was already setting out his field med supplies next to the heavily injured Decepticon, when he demanded, "How long has he been like this? It's not from the battle with the Fallen…"

The blue Seeker ran the backs of his claws across Starscream's cheek ridge. "C'mon Star, you've got to come out of recharge now. We got help."

Optics on his brothers, Skywarp supplied the medic with an answer. "No, it's not…Megatron lost his temper with what happened in Egypt…and before." The black and purple mech turned his attention back to Ratchet, watching the Autobot work with a detached fascination. "We finally got him away a few mega-cycles ago. We took turns sharing our energon reserves with him, but it's not enough. TC had to stay hooked up to him while I went to find you." The dark Seeker knelt next to his exhausted brother and stroked his helm reassuringly.

Nervous silence settled as the CMO diligently worked, the brightly colored Seekers watching his every move. An eternity later, only Ratchet's naturally steady demeanor while working kept him from jumping like the two Seekers when Starscream let out a static filled moan and what could have been an aborted scream. His panicked optics darted across the room before finally focusing on his Trine Mates. The Autobot didn't even acknowledge the whispered reassurances and ill concealed data bursts sent between them, and instead finished replacing the fuel lines in the Air Commander's midriff.

Caught up with what had happened since he's slipped into stasis lock, Starscream visibly relaxed his frame and turned his helm to better see Ratchet. "I can honestly say that it's good to see you Ratchet. It's been a while since you were performing repairs on me."2

The Autobot exhaled a puff of air from his vents. "Just don't make it a habit. I ignore factions when anyone is in need of my expertise, but I am _still_ an Autobot." After closing the last panel, Ratchet activated his scanners and ran them over the supine form of the Seeker. "I've done all I can without access to my med bay, but you'll survive. Take it easy and let your self repairs do their job."

With part of his processor painfully remembering how the two of them used to call each other friend, Ratchet reached out and ran the fingers of one hand down the paths of the intricate tattoos adorning the Seeker's forearm. "I thought they were just painted on. Did you really carve these into yourself?"3

Starscream stared at the drab room's ceiling, avoiding all the optics that were watching him. Even his Trine Mates had not yet had a chance to ask him about his new adornments, having arrived on Earth too late for the Fallen's battle and just in time to rescue him from a likely deactivation. "I needed to remind myself what I was fighting for. "

"Well, I think they're neat," Skywarp piped up, refusing to let anything dampen the good mood that blossomed from the revelation that his brother wasn't going to join the Well of All Sparks any time soon.

Thundercracker nuzzled in close to Starscream, his hold having never lessened. "I agree. They're very ferocious, yet dignified. Maybe Skywarp and I could get matching ones?"

Ratchet's head swung to a tilt, a habit he'd picked up from the humans when they rolled their eyes at a situation. Putting his last bit of supplies away, he stood up and blatantly ignored the creaking in his stiff joints. They had just returned from a strenuous mission when he'd been spirited away and he had not yet had time to remove the bits of shrapnel that had caught him.

"Skywarp, I would appreciate being returned to where you found me," the CMO said, attempting to catch the Seekers' attention before they became so involved in one another that they forgot him completely.

The dark Seeker frowned at the Autobot, but rose to his pedes anyway. With a warning glint in his optics, Ratchet wagged his outstretched finger at the entire flock. "I mean it. Let him rest…even if he asks for it."

Starscream's laugh almost shifted into a cough before he caught himself. "Sure you don't want to stick around and watch to make sure I don't over exert myself Ratch'? If I recall correctly, due to your vocation, you're hands are extremely sensitive. Care to remind me?" The Seeker let his leer show proudly, doing an effective job of covering his exhaustion and pain from how very close he had come to going offline.

Ratchet grabbed Skywarp's arm, readying himself for the teleport. "If you decide not to go back to Megatron, you know where to find me. I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement." Then with a load snap of displacing space and matter, the two Cybertronians were gone from the room. Only Thundercracker was there to witness his friend/brother/mate break into a type of relieved and happy laughter that he had not heard since before the War.

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1 _Reign of Starscream_ pg. 35; The scene in the comic can be interpreted several ways, but I like to think that because the humans are scientists/unarmed/not a threat/etc. he doesn't want to needlessly kill them as it's a waste/unhonorable/whatever. Think "Predator". Yeeeesss.

2 _Defiance_ pg. 5

3 _Alliance_ pg. 23


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**: Hippocratic Oath, Chapter 2

**Author**: odd_stick

**Disclaimer**: All recognizable characters belong to Hasbro.

**Rating**: PG (I'm playing it safe…)

**Pairing(s)**: Relationships, both past and future, are hinted at and include: ScreamerxTCxWarp, StarscreamxRatchet, and TrinexRatchet.

**Summary**: Skywarp puts things back where he found them.

When Ratchet was grabbed and suddenly gone, the soldiers initially reacted with pointed weapons and shouted calls of dismay. Their training and years of experience held their fire and immediately spurred them into responsive action. Luckily, Ironhide had seen _who_ had kidnapped Ratchet and was able to organize the confused troops while sending an urgent message to Optimus and the other Autobots.

Over an open channel he called out, "Skywarp just kidnapped Ratchet. Orders, Prime?"

From the other side of the base, Optimus simultaneously responded while politely excusing himself from his discussion with a small group of new transfers. "Ratchet has a 'capture, don't kill' bounty on his helm, so I don't think they'll deactivate him. Ironhide - organize a NEST team and debrief them on who Skywarp is and what he's capable of. They will need to be prepared now that we know he is still alive.

Jolt - prep the med bay. Arcee, Sideswipe – run a perimeter sweep." The twins and Bumblebee were currently off base on separate missions, but he sent a data burst to them to keep them informed and to be ready to return at a moment's notice.

The base mobilized with practiced efficiency, ready for anything. What they weren't expecting was that within just a few hours of his capture Ratchet would be returned unharmed. In almost the exact same spot that he had been spirited away, the two mechs warped into view. Skywarp used Ratchet's frame as a partial shield, but made no aggressive moves towards him or the allied forces of NEST which were quickly surrounding them.

When Ironhide raised his cannons and held them at the ready, it was Ratchet that spoke. "Hold your fire 'Hide. I'm not hurt."

The weapon's specialist held his ground with his optics and sensors trained on the black and purple seeker. "He hasn't released you yet."

Skywarp smirked at the Topkick over Ratchet's shoulder as he pulled the CMO back towards his chassis. Switching to Cybertronian, the seeker purred, "Getting jealous Ironhide?" As the blue optics burned, Skywarp reached around and dragged his claws across the chartreuse chassis and over the heavily armored spark.

It was the seeker that was caught off guard as Ratchet's plating shifted and flared like an angry organic feline. The medic turned in the arms encircling him, pulled back his fist and punched the Decepticon squarely in the mandible. The seeker stumbled back, just managing to burn his thrusters enough to keep him from falling embarrassingly on his aft.

The humans' eyes were wide as one of the strangest hostage situations they had ever witnessed played out. Respect and healthy fear rose within each one of them as they saw the wrath of the pissed CMO play out on his supposed captor. None of them understood the alien language the mech's were speaking in, but they had all spent enough time around the Autobots to read the barely suppressed humor in Ironhide's face and posture.

"I don't like what you're implying," Ratchet said as he glowered up at the taller seeker.

Skywarp grinned while he rubbed at his dented plating. "Aw, don't be such a prude. I was just teasing." His bright red optics quickly turned darker as the volatile mech's mood turned more serious. "I'll be talking to Screamer and TC about what was discussed earlier. See ya." Before either Autobot could respond, the seeker activated his warp drive and disappeared. The resultant force released a ripple through the air and nearly knocked the lighter humans off their feet.

"Slaggin' seekers," Ironhide growled in English as he approached Ratchet. He let his energy field brush the CMO's, attempting to receive and offer reassurance to his old friend.

The chartreuse mech let his own energy field respond while he turned and began walking towards the base's interior. "I'm fine 'Hide, but I need to report to Optimus."

"I know," the weapons specialist replied. "I'll take care of the troops then. Comm. me when you're done." He didn't wait for a response and instead lowered himself to one knee in order to speak to the human troops about what the hell had just happened. He left out how suggestive Skywarp's words and actions had been, not wanting to embarrass his friend (or suffer his wrath), but gave them the overall synopsis.

Optimus had received the warning of Skywarp's return so was already heading in Ratchet's direction. They met halfway and ducked into a nearby hangar so that the CMO could make his report in relative privacy.

After a hushed conversation in their native language, Optimus had to ask, "In your personal opinion, do you think they will truly abandon the Decepticons?"

Ratchet cycled fresh air through his vents as he thought. "I honestly don't know. Skywarp was the most loyal to Megatron of the three, but after talking to him…I believe he will try to convince the other two to switch sides. Thundercracker…I don't know. He was so focused on Starscream that I couldn't get a good read on him. And as for Starscream himself, he's stubborn. He's put up with Megatron's abuse for all these vorns and hasn't done anything about it yet. This could very well have been the last straw. He seemed…despondent with the entire situation once he was lucid enough to talk to me.

All in all, Optimus? I just don't know. I _hope_ that they will at least remove themselves from Megatron's grasp, but I think only time will tell. They would prove valuable allies."

The Prime placed a careful hand on his medic's shoulder. He was aware of the broken friendship between the Decepticon Second in Command and his own CMO. "Then we will just have to be patient and hope."


End file.
